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The Crustaceans of Southwest Florida

By Steve Carbol, Special To The Daily News

Armored division

There are about 55,000 species of crustaceans found around the world. This specialized class of arthropod is characterized by segmented bodies, two pairs of antennae, one pair of compound eyes and three pairs of complex moth parts. It includes such well known members such as crabs, shrimp, lobsters, pillbugs, crayfish and barnacles.

I lived in Maryland for six years. That's about five years and 364 days longer than it takes to fall in love with the blue crab. Admittedly, these crustaceans have a look and disposition that most other life forms find hard to love. The love in this case is based on consumption, as in the "let's eat 'em" kind. If you've ever cracked crabs, a Marylander's way of saying eating them, you'll know why this crustacean has a large following.

Crab

Cyclodorippoida

Eubrachyura

Thoracotremata

Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) (Greek: βραχύς / brachys = short,[2]οὐρά / οura = tail[3]), usually entirely hidden under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of claws. Many other animals with similar names – such as hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, horseshoe crabs, and crab lice – are not true crabs.

Types of North American Crab | SAVEUR

André Baranowski

The many crab species fished from North America's coastal waters vary greatly in size, appearance, taste, and texture and lend themselves to an immense array of dishes. There are six varieties that we use the most and are commercially available, either live, cooked, frozen, or in lump form (that is, picked and packaged).

Fiddler crabs are small semi-terrestrial crabs that inhabit tidal marshes and the adjacent sand and mud flats. They are recognized by the square shape of their bodies and by the male fiddler's oversized claw. Fiddlers dig cylindrical burrows where they take shelter from predators, hot sun, winter cold, and high tides. Fiddler crabs typically live in colonies; if you find one, you're likely to find dozens nearby.

Atlantic Mud Crab

The fingers, or top and bottom portions of the closable claw, are usually black to brown in most species; whereas, the interior portion at the base of the claw, called the palm, is usually pale. The claws are distinctly unequal in size, and the body is brownish. The carapace of P. herbstii is brownish green and slightly granular in texture, with sharp 2nd, 3rd, and 4th marginal teeth on either side (Kaplan 1988, Voss 1980). The appendages bearing the claws, called chelipeds, are darker and often spotted. Both fingers on each claw are black, and the color of the lower finger often extends up the palm. An enlarged, white tooth is present at the base of the upper finger on the larger claw (eg. Ruppert & Fox 1988). The 3rd maxilliped, or feeding appendage, is marked with a red spot in males, sometimes in females (Gosner 1978). All walking legs are hairy and slender (Voss 1980).

How to Catch Blue Crabs http://howtodoflorida.com Commercial crabber Capt. Gus shows Chad a few techniques for recreational crabbing off a dock or boat. How to Catch a Blue Claw Crab: 14 Steps (with Pictures) Categories: Fishing In other languages: E

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How to catch Blue Crabs in Florida https://Robsreelbaits.com for all your crab trap and live bait needs! Rob & Sarah, from Respect Outdoors TV, Love catching and eating Blue Crabs. This video will show you how they set up their traps, what they bait

Looks like you need to upgrade your browser Yeah, it's a pain to keep up. We sympathize, but technology keeps improving and we have to keep up, too. Our site runs faster and better on the latest browsers. Upgrade any one of the browsers below and it